born in a small two-bedroom house in mississippi, elvis was only 21 years old that summer. ♪ you ain't nothing but a hound dog ♪ >> lee: he created a sensation by performing the song, hip gyrations and all, on both the milton berle and ed sullivan tv shows. elvis and hound dog stayed at number one for what was then a record 11 weeks. ♪ love me tender >> lee: only to be knocked off their perch by elvis himself. his fans certainly loved elvis. more fanatically though than tender. >> announcer: the tempo is 1, 2, 4 for private presley. >> reporter: even a two-year stint in the army failed to dampen the female following. as our own charles kuralt noted at this news conference upon his discharge. >> elvis, you have screaming fans out there. do you still like screaming girls? >> if it wasn't for them, i'd have to re-up in the army. i'll tell you. >> lee: elvis released 31 number one hits during his lifetime earning him the nickname the king. his death from a heart attack in 1977 at just 42 shocked his millions of fans. but hardly discouraged them. elvis impersonators thrive to this day.